Ghost in the Sand
by Yemi Hikari
Summary: Gaara sees an apparition only he can see at the same time he's accused of something other then murder. The forth Kazekage finds the behavior of his youngest child strange, and finds himself pressured by both the council as well as the need to fix things with Konoha.
1. Shukaku's Shrine

_Disclaimer – I don't own Naruto. I started this piece for Wattpad's JustWriteIt June 2015 challenge as well as Wattpad's ParanormalCommunity's first Weekly Paranormal prompt as the one-shot for the prompt ended up becoming a much longer story for which I could make ten-thousand words within the month for a Fanfic. This is an AU where the Kazekage wasn't killed by Orochimaru._

 **Ghosts in the Sand  
 _Shukaku's Shrine_**

 _Stay away, stay away  
Hitodama float back and forth  
Across the path to the shrine  
Teru teru bozu lie on the floor  
Sand rains down from the sky_

 _Stay away, stay away  
Bloody is the path to the shrine  
Children weep salty tears  
Every child knows they will never return  
From the shrine bringing death_

 _Stay away, stay away  
From the path there is no escape  
The bloody monk eats children  
_ _Hear the bones and bodies crunching, snapping  
In the maul of the beast_

A small face peeked out at the streets of Suna as the sound of the _warabe uta_ floated up from the street where the small children bounced a pall back and forth. The twelve year old girl leaned forward as her mouth pushed together. Hearing the rhyme regarding the _beast_ caused the girl's shoulders to tense up, her stomach to lurch, and an over whelming feeling of fear and panic to drum in the back of her mind. Every time she heard the song she remembered the demon child with the red hair.

"Come away from the window Kaiya. We have guests."

The girl stepped away from the window, and saw her mother motioning for another woman from the village to take a seat. The girl hurried over to sit on one of the chairs and remained quite as she watched her mother start preparing tea for their guest. Her hands crossed in her lap as her mouth closed tightly, and her hands gripped each other tight enough that her knuckles turned white. She didn't try breathing in a manner which would cause a sound and instead tried being the perfect young lady her mother wished her to be.

"Have you heard Masuyo? Our troubles with that demon may be coming to an end."

A sound escaped Kaiya's lips as the mention of the local monster was mentioned. Her mother turned her head to glare at the small girl as she shrunk back into her chair. Her eyes darted over to her mother for comfort, but when she found none coming she instead looked back at the other female as she tried forgetting about the red haired monster. Her mother's voice remained thick with malice. "As if we should be so lucky. The few times Kaiya's been out of the house she's run into that monster."

"Perhaps she would have better luck if you actually let her out." The woman took a deep breath as if Masuya had given her a glare. "Truth be told I can't blame you for keeping your daughter inside. That monster is unpredictable to say the least. Hopefully though the council will order the beast to be put down. Surely the council will realize there will be other problems regarding that _thing_ other then just a bestial blood lust. He doesn't care what happens to others so long as his urges are taken care of."

"That monster is also the spawn of the Kazekage." Masuya came over to the table and poured each a cup of tea.

"You shouldn't talk about the Kazekage in such a manner." The words came out of Kaiya's mouth. "You told me as much mother. We should not blame him for the monster."

"My saying that monster is his spawn is not a reflection on the Kazekage, but on the fact I refuse to address that _thing_ in the same manner I do his actual children."

"It should be." The other woman took her cup of tea. "Rumor has it we're going to war with Konoha, and it's all the Kazekage's fault."

"You shouldn't speak of our Kazekage like that."

"It is though his fault. Rumor has it..."

"I don't care about rumors. I simply want that thing to stay away from my daughter and to leave us in peace."

"Except these rumors are regarding things which will effect us sooner or later. The rumor is the Kazekage tried starting trouble with Konoha at the Chunin exams and he tried using that monster to do so."

"Sicking that monster on another village makes sense though if one really thinks about it. That _thing_ has no control so it is better it loses control on someone else and ends up being another persons problem." Masuya stopped speaking. "Wait... you said he tried using that _thing_ against Konoha."

"I'm not sure. The shinobi who went to Konoha came back, and none of them were happy."

"Are you sure they simply had to deal with that monster before coming back? There is no way the Kazekage would mess up."

"Nobody knows where the Kazekage is. Apparently he was absent during the ordeal."

Masuya sat down. "I don't care to hear such things. The only thing I care about is whether or not my daughter is safe from that monster."

"I told you. The council is going to order that beast be put down. It's of no use for us anymore. Instead it simply poses a danger to the entire community."

Kaiya looked at her mother from the corner of her eye and watched as the woman took a drink of her tea. "I'll believe it when it actually happens. The assassination attempts certainly didn't work. In my opinion things are going to get worse instead."

The twelve year old girl felt her shoulders tense up, and the feeling of panic and fear didn't go away when the woman left. Her attention was drawn again to the outside where the children continued the _warabe uta_. She leaned up against the wall to her families small house and tried not to think of the things she'd heard about the red haired demon that took the form of a child. " _Why does he always show up whenever I come out?_ "

Eventually the singing stopped and Konoha felt her eyes closed. Night had fallen over Suna, and her mother went to bed believing her daughter was safely tucked away in her bed. Kaiya looked out at the night sky and shivered at the site of the moon. While the object wasn't at it's fullest the moon still caused her to fear what was to come. A doll remained clutched in her arms. A whistle came from below her window causing Kaiya to turn her head to the street below.

Her dark eyes widened as she recognized the young man below her. The light haired youth was also twelve years of age, and also remembered speaking a few times with him about the monster. A finger motioned for her to come out, and at first she shook her head causing the dark locks of hair to bounce on her shoulders. The young man motioned for her to follow again, and she finally slipped out of the room and headed down to the street.

She watched as he remained slightly ahead of her. Here bare feet felt sand between her toes as her white nightgown hung down to just below the knee. She clutched the doll to her chest tighter when she saw him stop in front of a run down _torii_ belonging to a run down shrine associated with Shukaku. She felt her entire body tense up with sudden fear as the lines of the _warabe uta_ played through her head.

The boy's lips turned up slightly. "Do you wish to be rid of the demon once and for all or not? As long as he's around you'll always live in fear." Kaiya swallowed before limping up the stairs after the boy. She tried not to note the _hitodama_ floating around the place, but stopped part way up. The path went into the mountain side, and no sky was seen above. The boy turned to her again. "Is that limp because of something he did?"

Kaiya's head jerked quickly back to the boy, but no words came out of her mouth. " _That's what everyone says._ "

"Don't you want to pay him back for what he did? The shrine's farther up, and I need your help."

The girl continued on up the stairs as her chest tightened from the fear she felt. " _This feeling... I wish it would go away._ "

"That feeling you feel every time you think of the monster will go away if you help me stop him. Now is the best time to make our move."

The two twelve year old children arrived up at the top of the shrine and the boy motioned her to sit on a raised spot in the court yard. She clutched the doll to her chest and waited for the boy to say something to her about what they would be doing. Instead she watched him pull out a flute which he placed to his lips. She knew the boy blew on the flute, but no sound came out of the instrument. Her eyes blinked a couple of times as she looked at the instrument, and her head titled slightly to the side.

No sound came out of the instrument, but then she felt a pulling feeling around her middle. A different kind of fear overcame her. She found herself getting up and running down the stairs as she felt something continue to pull at her from deep down. Her body suddenly felt light as she feel down the stairs, and her doll fell down below her. She blinked a couple of times before she completely blacked out.


	2. Suna's Mess

**Ghost in the Sand  
 _Suna's Mess_**

Making sense of the mess the sand shinobi were in was no easy task. Baki made the decision to turn himself over to Kohana not because he felt the sand shinobi should surrender, but because Suna needed someone to negotiate the mess created by their forth Kazekage. As the Kazekage was nowhere to be found that left one of the elders from the council to instigate the negotiations. In choosing to do so he knew the negotiations would be tense, particularly when he learned the third Hokage was dead.

"Where is the forth Kazekage?"

"I honestly don't know. If we knew where he was located he would be the one here doing the negotiations or he would have chosen the person who would be doing the negotiations." Homura Mitokado glared at Baki. The old man turned to whisper to Koharu Utatane as their mouths pushed together.

Elder Koharu turned back to him. "We need to discuss this with a few of our jonin."

Baki watched as they left the room, and felt an anger towards the Konoha. He sat at the table until the two elders came back with two of their jonin. Elder Koharu folded her arms. "Are you sure you don't know where the forth Kazekage is?"

"I'm positive." The man leaned back. " _I also don't know where his three children have gotten to which is just as distressing._ " The eyes of the Suna shinobi narrowed as he attempted to decipher the expressions on the faces of the Konoha shinobi in the room. He recognized the two jonin as the sensei of the genin Gaara almost killed during the preliminaries, and the other was the sensei of the genin which managed to harm Gaara. " _Vindictive_ _much?_ "

Elder Homura took a seat across from Baki. "It's quite understandable for you to be wary of us. The Shinobi of your village attacked our own, and this would understandably make us enemies. Despite the death of our Hokage we still find it hard to believe Suna would break our alliance."

" _Truth be told I wondered about that myself, but I couldn't question the Kazekage about such matters._ " Baki looked at the table in front of them waiting for the elders to say something to which he could respond. He folded his arms across his chest. "The only reason I'm here is to negotiate our terms of surrender, and to make sure there is no further war between our two villages."

"You want us to believe Suna is in more dire straights then Konoha?" Elder Kokaru's mouth pushed together as she kept her hands tucked into her sleeves.

Baki remained silent for a short period of time, before deciding it was best to say something in regards to Suna's condition. "I believe the elders of Konaha's council know of the contracts the Land of Wind daimyo took with your village."

Elder Koharu glared at Baki for a few minutes reminding him of lady Ciyo. She removed her hands from her sleeves and folded her hands. "I don't know what our contracts with the Land of Wind have to do with this. The requests made of us were extra requests. When a daimyo will need to use a hidden village outside their own country is always in fluctuation."

"So you honestly thought nothing of the long string of requests coming from the Land of Wind?" Baki watched as the elder woman's eyes suddenly widened. "The daimyo for the Land of Wind prefers using the shinobi of Konoha over those of Suna because your prices of cheaper."

"Surely you simply needed to cut your own prices." The female elder watched Baki carefully. Her eyes opened suddenly as her mouth opened.

"You just realized why we couldn't."

"Your daimyo also cut back on what he payed you for guarding your own lands." Koharu frowned as her hands clenched the edge of the table. "Why didn't your Kazekage say anything to us? We would have refused the requests. Surely you knew this."

Baki watched as the two sensei of the genin who fought Gaara looked at each other. The white haired jonin spoke what both were thinking.

"The daimyo for the Land of Wind used the treaty between Suna and Konoha to his advantage. If the Suna shinobi did anything to rebel against the Land of the Wind's daimyo he simply needed to bring in us Konoha shinobi in as the Suna shinobi would not be able to do anything because of the treaty. Thus the treaty with us had to be broken, or at least that's how I imagine the Kazekage was thinking when he teamed up with Orochimaru."

"That's more then what I was thinking Kakashi, but that honestly works."

The Suna shinobi remained silent as he stared at the two jonin, and then he spoke in a monotone voice. "What exactly do you want?"

"Suna I take it is looking for the forth Kazekage?" Koharu's fingers folded together as her mouth pushed together.

"I believe we're simply repeating things which have already been said, but I may very well be mistaken."

Elder Homura raised his hand. "We would like to offer help in finding the forth Kazekage."

"So that you can assassinate him in revenge for the death of the third Hokage?"

"As we've already said it is understandable that you don't trust us to help you search for your Kazekage. This is why we're only sending Kakashi and Guy with you specifically." The male elder folded his arms. "We'd be more at ease knowing they were helping search for your leader. The sooner the Kazekage is found, the sooner we can figure things out."

"Is that something so simple?" Baki leaned back while looking at the Konoha shinobi.

The male elder of the Konoha village let out a sigh. "We don't think the forth Kazekage was even at the Chunin exams."

A deep breath escaped Baki's lips. "If you had your suspicions then why didn't you say anything sooner?"

"Perhaps instead of asking whether or not you knew where the Kazekage was we should have asked when you last saw your Kazekage." The male elder watched as Baki remained silent. "Orichimaru took his place. The question though is when did he do this."

Baki carefully contemplated what they were saying. The negotiations quickly seemed to be heading in the direction of an interrogation. " _Could the Kazekage be dead?_ " The man shook of the thought. "The last time I saw the Kazekage was when I left with my three students for the Chunin exams. Did it come directly from the Kazekage."

"The order to attack..." The man's eyes darted. "I can't honestly say." He took a deep breath. "I received the plans for the attack a week or two before the Chunin exams, but it wasn't from any of our shinobi. I received the orders from an Otoga shinobi." A sickening feeling hit his stomach as he found himself wondering exactly when the Kazekage was replaced by the man.

Kakashi folded his arms across his chest. "What exactly were your orders when you left?"

Baki glared at the other sensei. "I can't exactly say."

"Look. We're all friends here. You can trust us."

The male elder of the village let out a sigh as he glared at Guy. "I know there are secrets, but is this really something we should be keeping secret if it means finding your Kazekage."

"I'm sorry. The reason I can't say anything isn't because I was sworn to secrecy regarding what he told me then. His orders were vague. He said Gaara and the Chuunin exams were important in regards to bolstering our economic state." Baki didn't say the second part. " _My job was also to try and keep the three out of trouble. The council doesn't seem to be aware of the fact the three are the Kazekage's own children at this point in time. They don't need to know we struggle with Gaara either._ "

"I see." The male elder turned his head to the two jonin. "Kakashi. Guy. We would like you to travel back towards Suna to see if you can't help them find the Kazekage. Be sure to send word to us when his status is determined. We can then resume negotiations."

Baki stood up then. "If that's the case then I'd be best going since no negotiations have taken place."

"Until your Kazekage is found consider the treaty status to be the same, but this doesn't mean it will remain the same. Might Guy needs a distraction from his student's injuries."

The man headed out of the room while the lips of his mouth pushed together in frustration. He didn't like bringing the two men along with him. " _We don't need their help finding the Kazekage. The elders of Konoha know this all to well. They're simply being sent along so they can keep tabs on the situation._ _Did she have to bring up the genin Gaara practically mutilated? It's as if she wants to add another sting to Suna's troubles._ "

The three first stopped by the hospital to check on a certain students therapy. The interaction between the student and Guy made Baki wonder how useful the man would be. The man appeared to soft compared to the way Suna shinobi were expected to treat their students, and he also couldn't rule out revenge.

Guy's student Lee blinked a couple of times after the two greeted each other as he looked at Baki before pointing at him. "You're Gaara's sensei are you not?"

The Suna shinobi glared at the boy, and then watched as he got depressed. " _Is he depressed because of his injuries? He doesn't look like he will ever be able to fight again. This is the kind of trouble which follows Gaara, but in this case he's lucky._ "

"How is he doing?"

Baki continued to frown at the boy. " _He's concerned with how Gaara is doing? He's not at all afraid of him after what Gaara did. Is he some kind of moron?_ " He said something straight forward. "You do realize the Suna shinobi attacked Konaha right?"

"If you are with Guy sensei and Kakashi sensei then things must be fine between us now. Could you tell Gaara I don't blame him."

" _Another odd thing to say. And we don't have time to be making these kinds of stops._ " They left then with Baki hoping they wouldn't make another stop. Unfortunately the three men passed a ramen stand on the way to the gate, and Kakashi stopped short.

"Hold on a second." Kakashi ducked into the ramen shop, and Baki thought it was another useless stop. He then watched as the man tugged his blond haired student by the ear. The Suna shinobi was quite sure the boy was still dressed in the garb assigned by Konaha's hospital. "Naruto... you're still supposed to be in the hospital after your fight with Gaara."

"I wanted some ramen." The blond haired boy blinked a couple of times when he saw Baki and a smile spread across his face as a hand reached behind his head. "Hey. You're Gaara's sensei aren't you?"

" _Again?_ "

"Could you let Gaara know I'd like to eat ramen with him the next time he comes to Konaha?"

"First, I'm not Gaara's personal message service. Second, there is a high chance he's not going to be allowed to come back. Our council is likely going to want to keep a tight leash on him after what happened." Baki watched the look of disbelief on the blonds face, and then watched as Naruto crossed his arms and glared at the man. " _Either way you look at it Gaara messed up. There is a high chance the council will call for another assassination attempt on him, or even order the Kazekage to kill Gaara himself._ "

"This has to do with what's sealed inside him, doesn't it."

" _Intuitive, or something else._ "

"Did any of you think the problem isn't Gaara, but everybody else."

"Say what?" Baki found his facial features suddenly faltering for a few seconds.

"You know what I mean. It's all your fault Gaara's been alone this time. He..."

"Naruto. Back to the hospital, or do I need to perform One Thousand Years of Death on you?"

"Ah... that technique. That technique combined with a kunai and explosive tag worked really well in my fight with Gaara." The blond withered suddenly under the glare of his sensei. "I'll be going back."

Something told Baki he probably didn't want to know what this One Thousand Years of Death technique was.


	3. Stirring the Pot

**Ghost in the Sand  
 _Stirring the Pot_**

Two eyes watched as the Gold Dust traversed over the edges of the cavern. The others within the cavern looked down at floor where they sat. One of the men looked up at the man as he stood there with his arms crossed. "Kazekage... you should rest. There is no telling how many days you've used your Gold Dust to try and explore the area, and you're also injured."

The auburn haired man ignored the comment from the ANBU, but then teetered slightly. He took a deep breath and slid down against the wall. He closed his eyes trying to not remember what Orochimaru said to him before sealing him and his men into the cavern.

" _I'd kill you, and use your Vanishing Facial Copy Technique if it weren't for the fragile nature of said technique._ _I'll simply use that mask you Suna shinobi are so fond of. If you manage to escape this sealed prison you'll find it's not just Konoha which has fallen._ "

Rasa's teeth ground together as he looked off into space. Sweat dripped down from his forehead despite the coolness of the cavern, and one hand went to his rib cage. His attention diverted to his ANBU as one spoke up. "Kazekage... your injury."

"I'm fine. The ones who don't look fine are the ANBU who are supposed to guard me at all times. Tend to your own injuries instead of worrying about me." The man looked over the ANBU and wondered if under the masks they wore were looks of disappointment from their Kazekage's harsh tone. " _It can't be helped. They're not children, and really should be worrying more about their injuries. Particularly the ones I couldn't protect with the Gold Dust when the explosion occurred._ "

" _Children..._ " The Kazekage looked at the wall. " _I wonder what that man has in mind for Baki's group of genin._ " The man brushed off the guilty feeling from not referring to Baki's students as his own children. " _What is exactly is that man's plans with Gaara? That child is completely unpredictable, and simply having him try to make a name for us by becoming a chunin was a major risk._ "

A sigh escaped his lips as he let his head tilt back as he waited for his chakra to replenish. " _The only chance we had_ _was Gaara, and Gaara not losing control during his matches. It's true the brat has more control over his sand, but he's never cared about doing what he's told._ " The man licked his lips, and then heard the sloshing sound of someone's water container. He looked up to see one of the men holding out his own flask for the Kazekage to take. "What are you doing?"

"Lord Kazekage? Isn't your flask almost out."

"Be concerned with yourself."

"You're the only one you can get us out of here Lord Kazekage."

"I'm not likely to be of any use getting use out. Our real hope lies with someone from the outside finding us. I doubt anyone suspects that we're missing." The man watched as a silence fell over the entire group.

"We may be the only ones who can help Suna though."

" _Valid point._ " The Kazekage reached for his own flask and opened up the container and took a drink. " _Can't wait for my chakra to replenish._ " The man stood up, and felt the tension from his ANBU increase. "As I said. Be concerned with yourselves and not what I'm doing."

He watched as his Gold Dust floated up to the ceiling, and all around the cavern probing for some kind of weakness.

 **M**

Working with the Konoha shinobi wasn't to Baki's liking, and honestly caused him to have a foul mood. The faces of the Suna shinobi they met up with told him they weren't none to pleased with the situation, and he felt at least one of them questioned his judgment of trying to negotiate with the Konoha shinobi. He knew the Kazekage would be guessing his judgment as well should the manage to find him. " _If we find them. If that man is dead then those three children are orphans. I'm not sure if they will care, particularly Gaara._ "

The shinobi of Suna continued to glare at Konoha shinobi. "How is tracking down the Lord Kazekage's location?"

"Nothing. None of the beasts we use for tracking were able to pick up any trace of the Kazekage. The trail's gone cold."

Baki felt his jaw tighten at this news. " _This means time is running out. What ever supplies the Kazekage and his ANBU had are likely running out._ _If of course they are even alive._ "

The Konoha shinobi dressed in the strange garb looked at his companion. "Kakashi. Do you think your tracking beasts can catch onto the trail?"

"No. I don't believe the Suna shinobi are incorrect in saying the trail's gone cold. However..." The white haired man folded his arms. "... there are times I've used my ninken to find survivors under rubble. I can summon them if you don't mind."

Baki watched as the other Suna shinobi glared at the Konoha shinobi, and he barked out an order. "We don't have time to let our personal feelings get in the way. We need to take any opportunity we have to find the Kazekage we can."

The man folded his arms as he watched the man summon his eight dogs, and one of the Suna shinobi pulled out the item containing the Kazekage's scent. The eyebrow which was covered by the cloth covering his face rose up upon seeing the small teddy bear. " _Where_ did you get that?"

The Suna shinobi looked at the man in a rather confused manner. "It's all we could find in the Forth Kazekage's office."

Baki took a deep breath. " _You idiots were to afraid of the man to go into his personal living quarters, but you managed to find the one thing which will tick him off even more then you going into his personal living quarters. I can't imagine him wanting 'anyone' knowing he's held onto that thing, particularly since that 'thing' used to belong to Gaara of all people. Goodness knows I'm shocked he has anything from any of his children's childhood, let alone Gaara._

Another thought crossed his mind. " _Then there is the fact someone may get the wrong idea if they didn't know he has children._ "

"Does the Kazekage have children?" Guy quickly spoke up rather quickly.

"Two. They're grown up now though."

Kakashi simply took the toy. "It's a bit problematic though, as the child's scent may still be on the item after all of this time. I don't think that's why you couldn't pick up the trail." The man let the dog sitting on top of the other dogs head sniff the item. "Do you have any problems Pakkun?"

"The child's scent is still there, but I've smelled it before so I can differentiate between that smell and that of the parent. I know what we're looking for. Not so sure about the others though as they weren't there."

Baki felt his eyebrow go up. " _That dog knows Gaara's scent._ " The man cursed his luck. " _That means they've likely figured out Gaara's related to the Kazekage. That's not something we're fond of sharing with people outside of the village._ " He watched as the man let the other dogs smell the item, before wrapping it carefully with a white cloth and sticking the item into his bag. " _Sometimes I wonder if the problems we've had with Gaara over the years come down to our shinobi being idiots._ _Plenty have done idiotic things to set him off._ "

He didn't want to imagine the Kazekage's mood when the man was finally found.

 **M**

The ANBU watched the Kazekage nervously knowing full well how stubborn the man could be. Each time the man used his Gold Dust it became harder for him to stand on his own two feet. Rasa had been rather blunt about the fact he wouldn't be able to get them out of their, but the harsh reality was every single person in the cave worried about Suna's fate and what Orochimaru had planned. The man of course couldn't last much longer, and they worried when he simply would fall to the ground unable to get up on his own.

Again Rasa's feet teetered which meant the man would lower himself to the ground to rest for a bit, but this time after teetering for a few seconds the man fell to the ground with a loud crash. "Kazekage!"

A few of the men rushed over despite the fact they knew a lecture about worrying about themselves might come from the man's lips. Instead a few chunks of dirt from the ceiling fell down around the man, and the men quickly reached under the man's arms and began to pull him away from the spot which looked like it would cave in. No verbal protest came from the man's mouth, but a groan did escape his lips. His eyes opened half-way as light began streaming down into the cavern.

From above they heard the words, "Lord Kazekage!"

Rasa let out a ragged breath before closing his eyes as a few shinobi jumped down. His eyes snapped open to see Baki, and next to him a couple of leaf ninja. "Why the hell did the Hokage decide to interfere with the business of Suna?"

The white haired shinobi stepped over with Baki to help Rasa to his feet. The annoyance at the interference read all over his face as he heard the voice of the white one next to his ear. "Apologies. This isn't an order from our third Hokage as he's dead. We couldn't let another village lose their kage as well."

Rasa felt himself pulled outside by the two men and sat down on rock while the shinobi worked on pulling out the rest of the ANBU. Baki sat down next to him and handed him a flask containing water, though for some reason the Kazekage wondered if he might not prefer sake. "Please tell me it wasn't Gaara wasn't the one to kill the Hokage. We need our relationship with Konoha to go well as we need access to that tract of land within the Land of Fire for food and water resources." The man let out a curse. "Scratch that. The fact the Hokage is dead isn't good news for us." The man swallowed. "Tell me. Where are they?"

"We don't know. Things were... a tad strange. I'll fill you in to the best of my ability once we get back to Suna."

"Did they have to send some of their shinobi?" Rasa's voice tensed from irritation.

"Besides the fact it's fully in their right to keep tabs on us at this point..." Baki took the flask Rasa handed to him back. "... if it weren't for those two Shinobi we wouldn't have gotten you out in time." He watched as the forth Kazekage turned to glare at him. "The white haired one provided ninken, and the second bashed down the rocks once we removed the five seals."

"There's something you're not telling me."

"I'll let you know once we get back."


	4. Stay

**Ghost in the Sand  
 _St_ _ay_**

"Stay."

Gaara proceeded to give Temari a blank stare as he sat on the rock not far from Suna. Shukaku's voice piped up at the back of his head. " _She just treated you like a dog. Aren't you going to do something about it?_ "

" _Aren't tanuki a type of dog?_ "

" _We are not. Where would you even 'get' such an idea._ "

"Why?"

He watched as Temari and Kankuro blinked a couple of times before looking at each other. Gaara remembered on the way back how they would speak among themselves before looking at him. The talking among themselves honestly wasn't something new, but in the past his two older siblings would look at him in fear. The looks he received on the trip back were different. "We need you to do so."

The youngest sibling felt the corners of his mouth turn down. "Our mission is over. That means reporting in."

"Gaara..." Temari took a deep breath.

"It's not as if you bothered reporting in with us before." Kankuro folded his arms across his chest. "So why does it matter?"

"It matters."

"I'm the oldest, so that means I'm in charge."

Shukaku quickly laughed. " _She's in charge. Do you remember the time when she let you be in charge?_ "

Temari leaned in closer. "I want you to stay here until somebody comes to retrieve you Gaara. If nobody comes by sunrise tomorrow then I want you to run. I want you to get as far away from here as possible."

" _Why?_ "

"Because we told you so! Isn't that a good enough reason!" Kankuro's words snapped out at the younger sibling, but then he glanced away. Normally the look would be fear, but this time around the look seemed to be one of guilt.

"No."

Temari took a deep breath. "Please? Can you do this for your big sister?"

Gaara looked at the ground and didn't at first say a word. He looked up to see Temari and Kankuro waiting for an answer. Reluctantly he spoke up. "Yes."

He looked down again and felt Temari's hand reach out to ruffle the top of his head. "Thank you."

The young shinobi looked away and traced his finger around the rim of the sand gourd which sat next to him. His other hand constantly reached up to try and grip at his heart. Shukaku kept telling the young jinchuriki they'd abandoned him, but he didn't want to think Temari and Kankuro would do such a thing.

Sitting on the rock he felt a slight breeze begin to blow, and the desert wind begin to whistle in a manner that made the feeling of being alone grow. He felt the presence of a strangers chakra caused his head to dart up, and he titled his head to the side as he looked at a small female staring at him. His eyes remained fixated on the sight wondering why she kept staring at him with the blank look on her face. The urge to say hello quickly welled up, but he felt his throat freeze.

He watched as the girl's mouth moved as she clutched her doll to her chest. Words finally came out of his mouth as the silent words made no sense. "I can't hear you."

Another presence caused his head to turn and his eyes widened slightly. Among the group was his own sensei as well as the sensei of the two Konoha genin he fought during the chunin exams. Gaara also saw his father held up between Baki and one of the ANBU. Something felt wrong about the situation, and he opened his mouth to say something. Rasa's head darted up then, and he saw the stern look on the man's face.

He looked away as a shiver ran down his spine only to see the girl was gone.

 **M**

The Suna shinobi finished pulling the members of the ANBU who were buried with the Kazekage out, and they prepared to start back. Rasa attempted to stand up only to find himself teetering from lack of chakra. Baki came forward to steady the man along with another Suna shinobi. The injured ANBU also found themselves helped up as the party proceeded back to the hidden village.

The Kazekage kept his head high, but let his eyes drift down slightly to make sure he didn't misstep on the trip back. " _The council is going to be in a riot when we get back if they aren't already._ " A familiar presence caused the man's head to dart up. He saw Gaara sitting upon a rock with his gourd next to him as the boy stared off into space. " _Is he waiting knowing I'm in a weakened enough state to kill me?_ "

Rasa watched as Gaara's head darted up and for a brief moment saw a reaction of fear upon seeing him. The boy looked away in order to avoid eye contact, and then for some reason startled as if something he'd seen nearby was no longer there. " _Another hallucination of his?_ " The man could sense the fear imitating off of most of his men. The only ones not afraid of the child in front of them other then himself were Baki and the two shinobi from Konoha. "Gaara..."

The boy turned his head to look back at them. Rasa's wondered where the older siblings were. "Why are you out here? Where is the rest of your team?"

"Temari ordered me to stay put until I was retrieved."

Rasa stared at the boy wondering what was going on in his youngest head. " _His behavior is off."_

"Have I been retrieved?"

"Yes." The Kazekage watched as his son stood up and stepped off the rock letting the sand lower him to the ground. The boy turned to head back to the village.

"Hey Gaara!" The Konoha shinobi wearing the ridiculous green git up held his fist up so his thumb was sticking up. The Suna shinobi besides the Kazekage and Baki flinched. "Good to see ya!"

" _Is that idiot trying to get killed?_ "

Gaara turned back to look at the men. "You're the meddling mother hen form the chunin exams."

" _Apparently the idiot's managed to annoy Gaara already, and yet managed to some how live._ "

"Lee says hello and to pass on the message he doesn't hold any grudges."

Rasa felt his stomach lurch. " _No grudges? Someone actually survived an incident with Gaara._ " A sigh escaped the man's lips. " _That must be what Gaara meant by meddling mother hen. That man interfered with one of Gaara's kills. I'm still surprised that... no, I must be imagining things._ "

"Oh. And Kakashi. Didn't your student Naruto want to pass on a message as well."

"I don't remember such a thing." The white haired shinobi glanced away.

"Oh yeah! He wanted to invite Gaara to have a bowl of ramen from Ichiraku's." The Kazekage turned his head slightly to look at the shinobi from Konoha, before turning to give his son a mystified look. The boy took the look as another look of displeasure and quickly disappeared from sight without saying another word. The man in the strange green outfit put a hand behind his head. "Did I say something wrong?"

One of the shinobi from Suna choked out a response. "May I suggest being careful about what you say to... him? There is no telling how he'll take what you say to him. You're lucky he didn't use his sand coffin on you."

Rasa watched as the man tilted his head to the side in confusion. The other Konoha shinobi remained emotionless as they approached the gate.

The people of Suna spoke in whispers as they came in, and the loud mouth proceeded to make a nuisance of himself as he crossed his arms over his chest. "You'd think your village would be more excited to see their Kazekage back safe and sound."

"It can't be helped." Baki's voice came from right next to the Kazekage's ear. "Gaara's just came through here. You two have seen first hand how he can be."

The auburn haired shinobi turned his head to see the villagers gossiping, and he couldn't help but wonder what kind of rumors had started because of the mess with Konoha and Otoga. He also wondered where his two oldest children were, and why they left Gaara outside by himself. Mentally he held back a sigh of frustration. A particular thought shout through his mind. " _You would have done the same thing. Things don't look like they went well, and chances are Gaara is in a bad mood after what happened. I'm surprised he didn't kill his own siblings._ "

The idea that Gaara _had_ killed his older siblings nagged at him, and when the group arrived at the small hospital. The men were led to a room where the medical-nin begain applying treatment. Rasa glared at one of the medical-nin when they approached him causing Baki to let out a sigh. "You need to let them treat you. It's rather obvious you're injured Lord Kazekage."

Rasa turned to him. "On top of helping our guests get settled in I would appreciate if you found Temari and Kankuro. I honestly don't trust Gaara to have not killed them, and now have lied about it."

The look Baki gave him was puzzling, but he choose to brush the look off.


	5. Siblings

**Ghost in the Sand  
 _Siblings_**

Temari couldn't help but notice the change in Gaara's behavior. Both she and Kankuro were thrown off by the apology, and what made things even odder was the fact there was no need for Gaara to apologize for anything. Kankuro pulled her aside when they finally stopped and whispered into her ear. "Exactly what is he apologizing for?"

"I don't know. I guess for messing up the mission?"

"Does Gaara even understand what it means to mess up a mission? This is the first time he's ever done so Temari." The elder of her two brother's scratched the top of his head. "It honestly doesn't make sense."

Temari found herself approached by the youngest of her siblings once he was finally able to move on his own. Another strange thing came out of his mouth. "Are you all right?"

"I'm all right Gaara. I'm a bit confused as to why you're asking such a question." The kunoichi tilted her head to the side slightly as an odd expression appeared on Gaara's face. She felt air pull quickly into her lungs. "Something bothering you?"

"N... no." The boy slid away.

The second brother was watching from near by. "Temari..."

"What?"

"Did Gaara do anything to you recently?"

"Recently?" The kunoichi looked up at the forest above. "I got slammed into a tree when I tried tending his injuries. Speaking of which..." The blond paused realizing what Gaara was asking about. "Look. I need to look over his injuries to make sure they're bandaged properly."

"He's not going to let you. He hates being touched."

Gaara though let her touch him. The look on the red head's face was full of curiosity as she took care of his injuries. It bothered her not knowing how fast his injuries would heal. Not only was this the first time she remembered Gaara being injured, but she also didn't know if being a jinchuriki would help the healing process. She avoided making eye contact as she finished binding his chest. "I really am all right. I've had worse injuries."

On the way back the two siblings noticed how Gaara remained near them. Normally they would find time to speak with each other without him hearing as he didn't like being around them, but for some reason he clung to his two older siblings. Temari finally asked Gaara if he would feel up the water flasks for her, and the young shinobi grabbed the flasks quickly. Konkoro watched Gaara leave. "Is it just me, or has Gaara changed?"

"I can't exactly put my finger on why or how much, but he has changed." Temari took a deep breath. "Konkoro... what do you think the Kazekage is going to do to Gaara when we get back. We did after all fail the mission."

The kunoichi heard her brother draw in a deep breath. "He's going to personally kill Gaara. I mean... wasn't this like... Gaara's last chance or something to prove himself useful to the village."

The cogs in Temari's mind thought carefully over this realization both she and her eldest brother came to, and the next time she was able to convince Gaara to go do something she shared the plan she'd formulated with Konkoro. For a bit she was worried Konkoro wouldn't want to go along with her plan. Gaara had done nothing to make them want to protect him, but both knew they knew their younger brother need not do anything for them to want to protect him.

It was honestly the first time they could.

They stopped an hour or two Suna and took a break. It was then that Temari asked Gaara to stay. Somehow she knew the young shinobi wasn't happy about being told to stay, and perhaps even confused. " _This is for your own good Gaara._ "

She then headed towards the village, and saw the tense look of the villagers when they entered through the front entrance. Both siblings could hear the people gossiping as they passed by, and none of it was pleasant. One rumor indicated the Kazekage was dead, and another said the council was thinking of replacing him for implementing such a plan. Some wanted Gaara to be killed off. Most disturbing though was the rumors of _another_ victim of Gaara, and how their young brother was now doing more then just killing people."

"Seriously..." Konkoro turned to confront the latest person only for Temari to pull him aside.

"Remember. We're trying to find Baki to find out what is going on. If we find out there are ill intentions towards Gaara then we'll try to gather supplies and meet up where we left him. If for some reason we can't get to him he'll follow the order I gave and get away from there."

"Or he'll think we're in trouble and try rescuing us."

"You mean he'll unintentionally make things worse."

"Yeah. That's pretty bad considering it very much looks like he's trying to make amends."

Temari let go of Konkoro's shoulder and headed to the place they received missions from hoping her eldest brother wouldn't react to the stares people sent their way. She walked up to the men, and saw them looking at her with trepidation. "You're reporting in."

"We're reporting in and finding out what is going on."

"I'm not sure if I have permission to tell you what is going on."

The blond watched the man for a few minutes before turning around. "We'll go and find Baki then."

"Baki hasn't returned yet either. He's back at Konoha cleaning up the Kazekage's..."

Temari heard the man start to speak ill of their village leader. "There are ways to say what you were going to say with more tact."

Kankuro followed close on her heals. "What are we going to do? We can't ask Baki for answers."

"The Kazekage is missing. Didn't you hear him say he hasn't returned either."

"So what are we going to do?"

"Is there anybody other then Baki on the council we can trust?"

"I don't know really. I don't like Joseki or Goza. They've always been the most outspoken regarding killing Gaara off."

"We have time to decide whether we need to flee the village or not as well as gather supplies. I mean Gaara will..." Temari stopped still when a head of red hair appeared in front of her. "Gaara! Why..."

Kankuro let out a sigh. "You should know by now sis that Gaara doesn't listen to instructions."

"I listened."

"We didn't retrieve you, you moron."

"The Kazekage did."

Temari felt a sudden chug at her chest as she realized she'd used the wrong words. "Gaara..." She quickly bowed. "I'm sorry for not giving you better instructions. I should have said you were to wait to be retrieved by us or Baki sensei."

"Sensei was with him."

The eldest sibling snapped up quickly, and then jerked her head to look at Kankuro. She watched as her elder brother visibly swallowed. "Gaara. Do you understand why we told you to wait out there."

"No."

Temari felt her facial features soften. "Gaara. We failed the mission."

"So?"

"What happens when you mess up?" The young kunoichi watched as Gaara continued to look at her.

"I'm not allowed to kill unless I'm on a mission."

"Gaara..." The kunoichi took a deep breath. "You do understand we _failed_ the mission. We've _never_ failed a mission before. This was also a _major_ mission." Temari watched as her younger brother avoided eye contact. "Do you realize we're trying to protect you from what the Kazekage will do to you?"

"Don't."

Kankuro reached out and grabbed the front of his brother's clothing. "You ungrateful little... do you realize what kind of trouble we're going through for you?"

"I do."

"You..."

"Knock it off you two! We have other things to worry about." Temari took a deep breath. "Are you hungry Gaara?" She watched the boy look at her blankly. "Why don't we get something to eat?"

"Where? The only place to go is home. It's not as if Gaara can show up any place they sell food without people wanting him to leave."

"It's all right. I'll figure out something." The youngest sibling turned away to go off on his own.

"Don't." Temari watched as to see him. "We'll figure out something. It's not as if we can go home to get something to eat either. Not when we don't know what the Kazekage is thinking."

A silence fell over the three. Kankuro let out a sigh. "I guess I can't invite you two to hide out in my studio. It's one of the places he'll look. Perhaps we should just show our faces to the Kazekage. He's going to come looking for us, and the longer we keep him waiting the madder he's going to get."

"The Kazekage..." Gaara paused. "Never mind." His head darted up. "Sensei..."

The two other siblings turned their heads in the direction Gaara was looking in and saw the young Shinobi looking right at Baki. The man jumped down from the room, and stood in front of the three. "I'm surprised to find all three of you together. Normally you three stick to your own devices."

"What's going on Baki?" Temari moved to stand between Gaara and their teacher. She noticed two Kunoha shinobi were with him.

"These two helped us in retrieving the Kazekage. He is currently having his injuries looked over. He asked me to make sure our guests are settled." The man took a deep sigh. "He also asked to make sure Gaara didn't kill you two as well."

"Gaara wouldn't..."

Temari quickly placed a hand on her elder brother's shoulder, and shook her head. "I take it you wish for us three to come back with you?"

"I'm quite sure the Kazekage is going to want reports from you and Kankuro regarding the mission."

The young kunoichi noticed Gaara look away when their sensei didn't mention the Kazekage wanting to speak to him. Kankuro noticed his brother's reaction. "I think he suspects any report from you would be comprised of..."

Temari quickly elbowed him in the ribs to prevent him from saying something he shouldn't. She watched as Gaara disappeared from their sight.


	6. Slipping Sands

**Ghost in the Sand  
 _Slipping Sands_**

Two dark eyes watched as the medical-nin took care of the ANBU assigned to guard him. When one of the medical-nin asked if he had any injuries he tilted his head to the other men. A young female finally came forward saying each and every one of the men who were buried with him were now treated or being treated, and it was his turn. He didn't notice the female blushing, and pulling the clipboard closer to try and hide her face.

"Lord Kazekage? I need to do a physical examination to check for injuries."

Rasa continued to glare at the wall as she helped him remove his shirt. An involuntary groan escaped his lips as she pulled on the shirt wrong causing his bruised ribs to hurt even more. She began to bandage up his ribs in a manner not befitting a medial-nin, but he choose to ignore the rough treatment as his mind stewed over various strategies for dealing with the many various possibilities regarding Suna.

His focus came back when one of the elders stepped into the room. "Joseki."

"Do you have any other injuries Lord Kazekage?"

The way the medical-nin's voice strained caused Rasa to turn his head to look at the female attending him. He looked her up and down as her blush deepened. "Exactly how old are you? Sixteen? Seventeen? I'm old enough to be your father for goodness sakes, so knock it off."

"Fifteen sir." The comment regarding the fact he could be her father only made the blush worsen.

"My _eldest_ is your age." The man continued to glare at the woman. " _Seriously..._ "

Joskei let out a cough causing the female to scurry off. "Remarrying wouldn't be a bad idea Lord Kazekage."

" _So this is one of the ways he's going to take his conversation._ "

"It would certainly clean up some of the mess you created from siding with Otogakure to destroy our allies from Konohakure."

"I did no such thing." Rasa watched as Joskei. "You've assumed that was the plan I had agreed to with Otoga when in reality the plan I agreed to was to wipe the floor during the Chunin exams of the chunin from Konoha thus giving us an advantage in negotiations for missions as well as Otoga as it was a new village needing to make itself stand out. I'm not a fool Joseki."

The man cleared his throat. "There is another matter to address. A young girl from the village was attacked last night at that old shrine dedicated to Shukaku."

"And..."

"They say the girl was attacked by Gaara."

"Let me guess. There was a bloody mess like usual?"

"There was no bloody mess because..."

The pause from the council elder caused Rasa to turn his head. "I can think of a good reason why there was no bloody mess. This wasn't Gaara."

"You can't..."

The Kazekage quickly interrupted the man. "What reason do people have to believe this was Gaara?"

"A rumor's been going around for some time that..." Joseki quickly gulped. "... that Shukaku is looking for brides."

Rasa's mouth twisted up as he contemplated these thoughts. "What kind of nonsense is this? Why are you fool enough to bring this to me?"

"Surely you realize Lord Kazekage that Gaara is at the age now to be hitting puberty?"

" _Puberty?_ " Rasa remained silent for a minute before giving out his curt reply. "I've not thought of it much due to Gaara having the mental state of a spoiled toddler. I don't see why bringing this matter to my attention is important. Gaara was nowhere near the village last night, and there are two people who can vouch for his whereabouts." Rasa pulled his shirt over his head doing his best not to move his ribs. " _Hopefully he didn't kill Kankoro and Temari._ "

"Lord Kazekage! That monster isn't just being accused of murder anymore! He's being accused of rape! You've got to do something about him!"

"Of all the..." Rasa pushed himself away from the bed he sat on until his injuries were taken care of. "You're becoming more and more of a fool as each day goes by Joseki."

"You're the only one who can handle him. What would this village have done had you not come back alive?"

"We'll speak of this matter again later. I have something I need to do. I suggest not staying around as you are seriously testing my patience." The Kazekage waved his hand indicating the man should quickly disappear from his sight. He then stood up and headed to the office of the person in charge of the medical-nin corps. Their head darted up, and they asked what they needed. "I heard a young girl was brought in the night before."

"That girl?" The medical-nin suddenly looked uncomfortable.

"Are you going to tell me that you can't share a patients medical records or something of the sort?"

"No." The medical-nin leaned into his hands. "I have a parent who keeps insisting her daughter was raped and attacked by a certain someone when all the tests came back negative. Normally this would be good news, but there are quite a few of the villagers who are quick to believe these rumors. I honestly didn't think the situation with Lord Gaara could get worse, and this isn't actually of his own doing for once. She's in a comma though so we can't get any answers from her about what really happened."

Rasa leaned up against the wall. "In other words your telling me that the accusations are just that... accusations."

"That." The medical-nin stood up and headed to the window. "I don't really wish to discuss this topic anymore Lord Rasa. If you don't take your leave I'll be forced to take leave of my own office."

"Understood. Your information was helpful." The Kazekage pushed himself away from the wall before heading back to the place he called home. The sensei of his children quickly appeared beside him causing him to turn to look at the man. "Please tell me Temari and Kankuro are alive?"

"Yes. Gaara managed to meet up with them as well."

Rasa's eyes widened quickly when he heard this. "Gaara did?"

"What's even more strange was the older two insisted Gaara wouldn't kill them."

"I'll need to have a word with them about that." The forth Kazekage took a deep breath. "Have you heard the rumor going around?"

"No. I've stuck to paths the villagers don't frequent."

Rasa took a deep breath and filled Baki in on what Joseki and the head of the medical-nin told him. He watched as the eyes of the man widened in horror. "I'm honestly not sure how to stop this rumor. To make matters worse we have guests from Konoha, and if they hear these rumors."

"Something else is bothering you?"

"Joseki brought up the idea of me remarrying again."

"You do realize he would like you to marry one of his daughters? He wasn't happy when you choose to marry Kankuro instead."

"Now I think he wishes for me to marry one of his granddaughters." A visible shudder ran down the Kazekage's spine. "When he told me about these Shukaku's brides he also reminded me Gaara's at the age he should be hitting puberty."

"Wouldn't it be more apt at this point for him to try and marry Kankuro with one of his granddaughters, or Temari with one of his grandsons? Actually... how many children and grandchildren does that man have?"

"I don't know, nor do I want to know. What did you say to Temari and Kankuro?"

"I told them you would likely want a report regarding their mission. I'm guessing you'll want a report from me."

"Once we get back to my office. I'd like you to also send for Temari and Kankuro." Rasa paused before turning his head. "I think I would also like to speak to the white haired shinobi to get his point of view of things."


	7. Strange Sorcery

**Ghost in the Sand  
 _Strange Sorcery_**

The report Baki gave was not to Rasa's liking.

The most shocking news was finding out two of Konoha's genin shinobi manged to push the limitations of Gaara's sand shields and armor, and this was done using taijutsu. Rasa wasn't surprised to find out one of the genin was the student of the loud mouth, nor was he surprised Gaara tried attacking the youth again only for the sensei to interfere again.

The other major shock was the idea Gaara panicked twice by Baki's estimation. The first time was when Gaara realized the genin he was up against in the tournament was using taijutsu in the same manner the young man he fought during the preliminary rounds did. Out of fear Gaara decided to change to Shukaku before the expected time to do so. The transformation failed because his opponent managed to injure the young Suna shinobi.

Yes... Gaara ended up injured by someone.

Seeing his blood caused Gaara to panic a second time. Instead of losing control, or making some rash decision. Gaara simply froze and Baki ordered the two older children to get Gaara away. Baki pointed out the slight panic in Rasa's tone of voice resulting as his frustration with his youngest child escalated. The fact Gaara couldn't follow instructions was a problem albeit the instructions weren't' the ones Rasa wanted to give the young shinobi.

The door clicked open as Temari and Kankuro slipped into the room. "Baki's already filled me in up to the point where he had you retreat with Gaara."

"That..."

"I've not yet given you permission to speak Kankuro." Rasa leaned back and folded his arms across his chest. "I want to say something before you give your reports. Stay away from Gaara unless your missions call for it."

His two oldest glared at him. Temari finally folded her arms across her chest. "No."

"Excuse me." Rasa felt his shoulders tensed up.

"You heard me."

"Gaara's dangerous! What don't you understand about that? You two are at a high enough risk during missions of being injured, maimed or even worse killed by him!" The Kazekage's fingers tapped on the top of his desk.

"Gaara would never hurt us intentionally!" Temari stormed forward and slammed her hands onto the front of the desk causing the finger tapping to stop.

Rasa glared at his daughter as she looked at him in defiance. His fingers tapped on the top of the desk as his mouth twisted up into a deep frown. The kazekage couldn't quickly think of an answer in response to the girl's comment, and instead changed the subject. "What happened after you parted ways with Baki?"

The two siblings looked at each other, and then Temari raised her eyebrows as if to say she would handle things. She turned to look at the man with eyes that reminded him of her mother. "We found ourselves chased by a few of the Konohaga shinobi. Kankuro stopped to hold them off while I took Gaara on ahead. I tried treating Gaara's injuries, but he didn't want help. One of the shinobi came, and Gaara began to..."

The man watched as Temari stopped speaking, and her facial features twisted up. "Let me guess? He became Shukaku."

"Yes. He became Shukaku. He made himself go to sleep, and let Shukaku have control. One of the Konohaga shinbobi ended up fighting him to a draw. We, Kankuro and I, were prepared to take the other one on, but Gaara told us it was enough."

"Gaara did?"

"Gaara did. We then took him, and brought him back here." Temari looked her father in her eye. "After that Gaara kept apologizing, and tried being helpful."

Rasa's eyes widened, and he simply stared at his two oldest as he clasped his hands in front of his mouth. Multiple thoughts crossed his mind as he tried figuring out the strange events, and the most likely options were that Temari and Kankuro mentally lost it, or Gaara wanted something and found a new way to manipulate things to his liking. The man's hand reached up to rub at his forehead to try and relieve some of the stress he felt coming on. " _That means the situation with Gaara's becoming worse_ "

"Temari, you do realize that Gaara's likely trying to manipulate you and Kankuro?"

The man watched as his two oldest stared at him as if he were the monster instead of Gaara. A silence fell over the room as the Temari and Kankuro continued to glare at the man. Temari finally spoke up, and her anger was obvious. "You've just never been willing to give Gaara a chance. Nobody ever gave him a chance, so what's wrong with Kankuro and I finally wanting to do what we should have done a long time ago, actually be his older siblings?"

Kankuro nodded his head, and folded his arms across his chest. "Agreed. I don't want to hear a lecture from the person who didn't do his job as a father."

Rasa glared at his two eldest children, and stood up slamming his hands onto his desk. He pointed at the door. "Get out! Both of you! Now, before I do something I regret!"

The two looked at each other, and let themselves out. Temari however stopped in the doorway. "I think it's funny that you talk about doing something you would regret, when you've already done plenty."

The door slammed, and Rasa flinched as a picture fell off the wall, and clattered to the ground. He felt his eyes twitch, and he sat down at the desk. His eyes shot down to the lower drawer, and his hand reached down to open up the desk drawer. " _What would they know about what I do, or don't regret? The fact I've done plenty I should regret doesn't mean I want to do something else._ "

The drawer slid open, and Rasa's eyes picked up the picture frames which remained upside down in the drawer rather then on his desk. A particular item though was missing from the drawer, and a gut wrenching feeling that such a precious item was gone shot through his stomach. A knock on the door made Rasa's head dart up, and he slammed the drawer shut. The contents of the drawer rattled as he bid the person to come in. One of his eyebrows darted up upon seeing the Shinobi from Kunoha. "Do the two of you need something."

The white haired Shinobi lifted something up, and shook it slightly. The man's eyes were closed, and Rasa was sure that the man smirked under the mask. "Are you missing something Lord Kazekage?"

The auburn haired man felt the color drain from his face at seeing the familiar teddy bear, and the hand the two Shinobi couldn't see clenched into a fist. "I don't know what you're talking about."

"Apparently one of your Shinobi took this from your desk in an attempt to use any scent on it to find you, thinking it belonged to your daughter Temari, or your son Kankuro when they were younger." Kakashi tossed the teddy bear with a swift motion, and Rasa reacted in just as swift a motion to catch the stuffed toy. "Truth is though, this toy belongs to your youngest one, Gaara. Does it not?"

"I believe this is the business of Suna, and not you leaf ninja." Rasa removed the item from sight, dropping it to his lap.

"Is it? You asked what we wanted, and pretty much what we came here is to ask that you give your son a chance."

Rasa's fingers stroked the worn fabric of the toy while glaring at Kakashi, not pleased that this conversation was going the way it was. "So now Konoha wants to interfere with my parenting, the parenting of the Kazekage? Are you trying to make me laugh?"

Guy lifted one hand up to rub the back of his neck. "Actually, we were thinking you'd want an outside point of view. The way your shinobi talk, they didn't seem to fond of the kid, and went so far as to say you only have two children. Thus it stands to reason any advice they give you is going to be biased, based on what we observed during the chunin exams."

"I'm not sure you could tell me anything new." One of Rasa's hand's reached up to drum on the top of his desk. "I'm quite sure the two of you've noticed that Gaara is a problem child, and much of the time I don't know what to do with him. It's always been that way. He's not like other children, and I never had problems with Temari and Kankuro, at least until now."

"When a child isn't like other children you're supposed to change up your strategy." Kakashi waved his hand. "This really isn't about giving you advice about how to parent, or teach though, but to let you know what we observed."

"And what have you observed?" Rasa leaned back in his chair, the teddy bear still in his lap.

Guy held up a finger. "I see a child that does not understand because no one has bothered to explain things to him in a way that he would understand."

Kakashi rubbed his neck this time. "Well, you didn't need to put it that way."

"And how would you have put it?" Rasa folded his arms across his chest.

"Gaara is actually quite intelligent, and he wants to know how the world works. There is however a mental block which is preventing him from figuring out how the world works. Children need ways to learn how the world works, and when they're young they learn this from the act of role playing, and playing with others."

" _He says he's not lecturing me about parenting, but that is exactly what this moron is doing._ "

"They also learn through trial and error, by getting hurt in various ways. Of course, it stands to reason that there are things that prevented Gaara from having these factors in his life, and he didn't have the trial and error process other children go through."

"Despite the fact you _say_ you're not trying to give me parental advice, it really does sound like you are."

"Ah, sorry. I'm actually not talking from the experience of a parent, but from the experience of a child here." This comment from Kakashi made Rasa stare at the man.

Guy spoke up then. "My rival here was our generations child genius, and he didn't get much interactions with those his age, but now we both have grown through our relationship with each other."

"What Guy means to say is Gaara has made relationships with a few of our young Shinobi, so it stands to reason you should see whether this has an effect on him."

"This can't though be your only reason." Rasa kept his arms folded across his chest.

Guy continued to speak. "Nothing really. He seemed to show some confusion as to why I would protect my student despite the fact Lee failed, but beyond that, nothing."

The Kazekage tapped his fingers against his desk. "Fine, well, giving Gaara a second chance. You do realize that child has never once felt physical pain? It stands to reason..."

"... that said child will not understand the concept of limits." Kakashi held up his hand. "Lord Kazekage, you should have received reports by now that Gaara did indeed feel physical pain for the first time, and also other new experiences." Rasa's facial features twisted up, and Kakashi's facial features twisted in a manner that indicated he thought the Kazekage's reaction was amusing. "See, you're thinking from the mindset of a parent, if you think about it. A parent's worst nightmare is that their children will come to harm, and that's exactly what happened to Gaara."

Rasa felt the color face yet again, and his facial features twitch. "Parent? I doubt I would have stuck a beast into my son if I put the priorities of family before the village."

"I don't know. It's obvious that you do put the needs of your village before your family, but you've not been able to erase the fact you're a parent or the feelings that have gone with it."

"Are you mocking me?"

"No." Kakashi pointed towards the spot where the teddy bear rested on Rasa's lap. "No, I doubt you would have kept that old toy if family didn't mean anything to you. I think it's your regret, the fact you've had to put the village before your family. I think it hurts you, that Gaara's turned out the way he has so far. It's why it's his toy specifically. My ninken Pakkun identified it as the boy's. You either keep it because you still think there is hope for him, or because you regret the fact the child you love is dead to you, or even both."

The Kazekage felt his hands clench the desk, and he stood up letting the teddy bear slip from his lap. Guy beat him to the punch. "We're simply trying to say here, that there is still hope, and that maybe the child you think is dead all that time ago really isn't."

Rasa's mouth twisted down into a deep scowl. "And how is this any business of Konoha?"

"None. We've just taken a liking to Gaara-kun." Guy let out a laugh. "Lee and Naruto-kun are also quite fond of him as well, and since they're our precious students we feel the need to interfere, so they don't lose their previous friend. Not sure if that makes any sense though."

Kakashi made a quick bow. "We'll be taking out leave now Lord Kazekage, now that we've had our say."

The man's jaw dropped as the two men left, and he sat down. Rasa leaned back in the chair, and looked up at the ceiling. The door clicked open, and someone came into the room. His tone of voice took on the sound of annoyance. "Gaara, I know you're there."

"I've a question."

"What would this question be?"

"If someone hits you, does it mean they're you're friend?" Rasa's eyes widened, and he sat up in a quick motion. He looked at his preteen son, wondering what was going on. Gaara's reaction was to flinch at the reaction, and back out of the open door. "I'm sorry. The question wasn't appropriate, Lord Kazekage."

The door clicked shut, and Rasa felt his mouth drop for a few seconds. He glanced down at the teddy bear on the floor, and carefully picked up the toy. The desk drawer opened again, and he set it down while turning the pictures back over. The first was a picture of Gaara and Yashamaru back when Gaara acted somewhat normal. The second though was a picture of his wife, and he took it out of the drawer and set it back on his desk.

"Karura..." Rasa traced her face with his finger. " _I'm sorry I let things with Gaara get out of hand like I did, but I think I can stop apologizing constantly when I see your face._ _I think I can instead tell you Gaara's turning out to be the young man he's supposed to be._ " A frown crossed his face, and he pushed the picture down. " _Who am I kidding. I turned our son into a psychopath._ "


	8. Father's Words

**Ghost in the Sand  
 _Father's Words_**

" _Father doesn't wish to speak with me._ "

" _Can you blame him? Not that you ever really wanted to talk to him in the past._ " Gaara let his mind tumble over the beasts words, but then focused on other things.

" _Kankuro seemed angry at me. I simply did not wish for Temari and he to be punished for my own actions._ " Gaara walked without noticing anyone around him. The people simply avoided him at all costs, and he thought little of this action. If he had he would have likely thought there was no need about being wanted by anyone, when the feeling of wanting others, and making them precious kept him at ease. " _Speaking of precious someones, what about friendship. Does hitting someone mean they're your friend._ "

" _You are one funny kid._ "

Gaara continued walking, when a strange thought popped into his heads. " _Fathers are supposed to answer questions._ "

" _Only when these fathers care about their children._ "

" _Still, father is someone precious, even if he doesn't see me that way._ " The young Shinobi turned on his heals, frighting those around him. He heard the word monster whispered, comments telling him they wanted him to die, and a new word cropped up. " _I might be able to ask him._ "

" _Oh, I can't wait to here him explain what that word means. I can't wait actually to see the look on his face. It's going to be hysterical."_

The young Shinobi walked through the halls unhindered, and past Baki and stopped when he saw his siblings. Temari rose her eyebrows. "Gaara, what are you doing?"

"Seeing the Lord Kazekage."

"Gaara..." Kankuro frowned. "I don't think he wishes to see you. I'm not saying this to be mean, but it's the honest truth. There is no telling what he'll do."

"I want to try. I want to try and speak to him."

"Speak..." Temari let out a sigh, before reaching out and ruffling Gaara's head in an affectionate manner. "Alright. Just be back home soon. I'll make dinner for everyone."

"The Lord Kazekage as well."

"Hell..."

Temari elbowed the elder of her two brothers in the ribs. "Yeah. I'll make something for him to. Take care of yourself, otouto-chan."

The boy headed towards his father's office, and found himself bumping into the two jonin from the leaf village. Gaara didn't say anything to the two men despite the question on the tip of his tongue, and instead his tongue froze. Shukaku laughed in the back of his head. " _Not so easy to talk, is it?_ "

The man with the strange bowl cut saluted the boy. "How are you doing Gaara-kun?"

"Are you always like this?"

"Sadly, yes. But in some ways, not so sad." Kakashi piped up.

"Lee really doesn't hold what happened to him against you Gaara." The bowl cut man's comment made Gaara look at the ground, his mouth pushing together in frustration.

" _I'm not stupid. I did some major damage back there. I don't understand how he could save him twice, but then treat me as if I've done nothing wrong._ " Gaara decided the best option was simply to go see his father. " _I want to know what he wants of me, what I'm to do next._ "

He opened up the door, and peeked in at the man sitting at the desk. His father's hair was the same color, but with more brown in it. The man looked up at the ceiling, so Gaara was unable to see the brown eyes of his father. " _I could kill him._ "

" _Yes, you could easily do it with the way he's sitting there._ "

" _I don't want to. I want father to be someone precious to me._ _That's not going to though be an easy task._ "

Gaara watched as one of the man's hands rose up into the air, and motioned for him to come in. "Gaara,, I know you're there."

"I have a question."

"What would this question be?"

The young Shinobi shifted from one foot to another, and he mentally noted the fact his father's voice seemed distant. "If someone hits you, does it mean they're your friend?" Gaara watched as his father flinched, and he tried looking away. " _You're the only one whose able to get him to react this way. Don't look away though, else he'll get to be even angrier with you._ " The look on Rasa's face made Gaara flinch. "I'm sorry. The question wasn't appropriate, Lord Kazekage."

Gaara slipped from the room, closing the door behind him. He leaned up against the wooden door, his throat tightening. " _I did something wrong again. I'm always doing things wrong._ "

" _This is why you choose to be alone, is it not? If you can't help messing up, then you should just stop caring._ "

" _I don't think I can stop caring again, not when..._ " Gaara's eyes closed, and he headed over to the window outside of his father's office, and perched himself on the windowsill, pulling one of his legs up so he could rest his chin and arms on his knee. The other leg he let hang down to the ground over the lip of the windowsill. " _I need to tell the Lord Kazekage that Temari is making dinner for us. I forgot to do so._ "

" _Child, you drive me insane._ "

" _You drive me insane, Shukaku_." After a few minutes the door clicked open, and yet Gaara didn't hear the door shut.

"Gaara?"

The boy looked up. "Lord Kazekage?"

"Why are you still here?"

"I forgot to mention that Temari is making dinner for everyone, yourself included." Gaara flinched as the same look appeared on his father's face. "I guess that means I should be going now."

Gaara swung his one leg over the windowsill, and made to stand up and leave. His eyes widened upon feeling a calloused hand placed upon his shoulder, and a shiver ran down his spine as the young Shinobi honestly did not know how his father would react. "Wait, Gaara. Does this mean you'll be joining us for dinner?"

The red haired Shinobi bit down on his lip, and his shoulder muscles tensed up. "Only if you wish it, Lord Kazekage."

The man behind him remained silent, and for a moment Gaara thought Rasa was thinking up some kind of punishment for him. The feeling in his stomach didn't set well with the young shinobi. Rasa however spoke in a calm tone. "Please tell Temari to put dinner aside for me. I've got things I need to finish."

The sound of papers being moved made Gaara turn his head to see Rasa carrying paperwork, and his head darted away. The other question he wanted to ask popped into his head. "What does the word ' _rapist_ ' mean." Out of the corner of his eye he saw the same look Rasa gave him earlier. "Apologies. I asked something inappropriate again."

"Gaara..."

Rasa obviously had something to say, but Gaara found his attention drawn down the hallway. His eyes widened upon seeing the dark haired girl at the end of the hallway staring at him, with her doll clutched to her chest. The girl's dark eyes stared at him, and he noted they were void of emotion, much in the same manner his eyes were once devoid of emotion, except his had a look people described as pure evil. An eerie felling was around this girl, and yet Gaara brushed the feeling away.

"That girl..."

Gaara could feel his father's chakra fluctuate, and he wondered what he'd done this time. " _What_ girl?"

The preteen's eyes didn't blinked, but instead turned to look at his father while


	9. Sense of Belonging

**Ghost in the Sand  
 _Sense of Belonging_**

Disappointment...

Gaara's feet shuffled across the ground slowly as he headed back to the family home. His sea foam green eyes didn't look up from the ground until he heard a soft flute like music playing. His head darted up from the dust ridden pathway to see the dark haired girl in front of him, with her doll clutched in her arms. He watched her gaze drift up to a window, and he saw a curtain open up. For a second he saw a flash of sandy blond hair, only for the person to disappear upon seeing him.

" _Everyone is afraid of me, but that girl..._ " Gaara turned his head to look at the female, and saw that she was now gone. The young red haired shinobi headed on home, and the sinking feeling didn't leave even when he arrived with the knowledge Temari and Kankuro were waiting for him inside. His hand stopped over the doorknob, hesitating to open the door to go in. His throat swallowed, a tight feeling coming over him.

Finally though he opened the door. The main living area was empty, but the smell of food told him someone was in the kitchen. He headed into the other room, and saw Kankuro sitting at the table. The boy was lounging with his head rolled back, his eyes on the ceiling while his fingers played with puppet string in an absentminded manner, the chakra glowing lightly as the older of the two brothers waited for the meal to be finished.

Temari stood by the stove preparing her favorite food, and didn't notice the fact Gaara had come into the room. The young shinobi was quiet, and used to moving around in a silent manner around his siblings, thus allowing him to observe, but not understand. Temari finally glanced up. "Are you hungry?"

Gaara's eyes darted to the ground. "Father says he's staying late, so to put food aside."

His sister's lips fell from a smile, and pushed together. "He said that."

"I think..." Gaara let his hands hang to the side. "I think father's not coming because I'm here."

Kankuro's puppet thread snapped as his hands jolted apart, and the hooded puppet ninja jolted up. "What?" The teens fingers tapped the top of the table. "He may not want you here, but we do." The teen patted the table indicating Gaara should come sit next to him. "Don't listen to him."

"No thanks. I'm not really hungry. I think I'll got to my room."

"Are you sure?" Temari narrowed her eyes at her younger brother. "I could bring you something later."

"I guess so." Gaara slipped out the room, and headed to his room. Opening the door he found the place to be lonely, with little to no light in the room. The content of the room were also very sparse, and it felt as empty as his heart did. He didn't however want to go back to being in the darkness. His finger reached up to the light switch, and turned it on allowing a light to flood over the room. He flopped onto the small bed, and lay there looking at the wall.

Temari eventually knocked on the door, and she slipped into the room. The trey with food clinked as she set it down. "I'd like to say that you misunderstood father, but I know how he is. Kankuro is right though. You shouldn't listen to father. Could you eat something though? For your big sis?"

Gaara sat up, and looked at the food. "Did you put some aside for father?"

A smile flickered across the female shinobi's face. "Yes, though Kankuro threatened to eat it despite the fact he's not fond of that dish unless it's got meat in it." She watched as Gaara sat up. "I'm not exactly sure what to think. On one side, I'm mad that he hurt you again. On the other side I can't see how I can't be pleased with the fact you're actually thinking of others. I guess I just wish that father would see it."

Here eyes drifted to the food, and Gaara responded by picking up the trey of food. Eating though was another issue. "I can't."

"Why not."

"I..." The boy's eyes narrowed. " _I've never eaten in front of anyone. Not since Yashamaru died._ "

"It's all right. Just be sure to eat plenty." Temari went to the door. "See you in the morning, little brother."

…

A soft music box played as a girl with sandy blond hair looked down at the item in her lap. The ends of her sleeves draped softly down. She let the music calm her as she watched the twisting female dressed in a kimono. Her fingers reached out to trace the kimono pattern, only to look at her legs while placing the beautiful doll on the windowsill. " _As if I'd ever be able to do that, all things considered._ "

Her eyes darted out to the street below, and her breath stopped short upon seeing the red haired demon down in the street below. Her throat tightened as a memory flickered across her mind, and her lips pushed together wishing he would just disappear. She pushed the curtain back, attempting to brush away the memory. The doctors told her that the event wasn't real, that the pain I her legs was just her mixing up an event which occurred to someone else with her own self. Her memories though were real to her.

This also made the red demon a great fear for her, something she preferred not seeing. The Kazekage though lived nearby, and thus every so often the red haired demon would wander by, and her fear would crop back up, and she would find herself needing to focus on her music box to prevent herself from having a panic attack. She twisted the key for the music box, and let the music play hoping that the red demon would leave, and no longer be in the street below.

A soft sound came from outside of the window, and the girl's fingers went up to the curtain, but stopped short when she remembered who was outside. The sound came again, and she opened up the curtain. Someone stood in the shadows, and her lips curled down as she looked at the person. The person motioned for her to come outside, and she felt herself freeze up. Her head shook, but he beckoned again. She needed some reason to come out of the room, and something made her wish that someone in her family was there.

The person disappeared from down stairs, and she turned back to her room. The front door clicked

A knock came at her door, and a piece of paper slid under the door. She stood up, and stumbled over to the door, kneeling down to touch the paper. She picked it up as her body shook, and then opened it up before falling down.

" _If you come outside I'll make the demon disappear for good._ " The girl felt her heart pound in her throat, and then she glanced up at the door. Fear kept her from opening the door to her room. Her room was safe, and her family got her nice things to make up for the fact she was afraid to go outside, and that her legs didn't work the way she wanted them to. However, outside meant seeing pretty things, and doing things she'd always dreamed of.

She opened the door, and looked out in the hallway to see no one. Slowly but surely she found her way down the stairs, and when she got down to the bottom, she found her throat tightening. She sat down on the bottom stair, wondering where the rest of her family was. She finally stood up, and opened the door. She noticed a pot was moved from the side, and she headed towards the place she saw the person. Her mouth open. "Promise?"

A wind instrument was in the girls hands, and she wanted back inside. She followed after the boy, hoping she would get to a place nearby, but soon she came to a place near a swing. Her eyes darted around wondering why she came to this place, but something then made her black out.


End file.
